Yo Kitamura won the 2024 George Enescu International Competition, Cello Section, after a Final in which he performed the Concerto in B minor for cello and orchestra op. 104 by Dvořák. The Cello Final of the Enescu Competition took place on Tuesday, September 10, at the Romanian Athenaeum. In second place was Ettore Pagano from Italy and in third place Hadon Kay from the USA.
Yo Kitamura from Japan is the winner of the 19th edition of the George Enescu International Competition, Cello Section, at the end of a Final in which he performed the Concerto in B minor for cello and orchestra op. 104 by Dvořák, accompanied by the National Radio Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Bloxham. The Jury of the Cello Section for the 19th edition of the George Enescu International Competition was formed by cellists Arto Noras (President of the Jury), Leonid Gorokhov, Meehae Ryo, Valentin Răduţiu, Marin Cazacu, Enrico Dindo and Dan Prelipcean, together with Charlotte Lee – one of 14 top artist management executives and Raimund Trenkler, cellist and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Kronberg Academy Foundation.
“I had the honor of being part of the jury of the cello section since the first edition when this section was introduced in the competition program, therefore I was able to closely observe its evolution. Today, this eighth edition of the cello section of the George Enescu International Competition demonstrates the importance of this section in the competition program, this year’s edition having 213 cellist applicants”, said Arto Noras, President of the Jury of the Cello Section.
The first prize of the 19th edition of the George Enescu International Competition is worth 15,000 euros net, the second prize 10,000 euros net, and the third prize 5,000 euros net. Also, the laureates of the 2024 George Enescu International Competition will be offered the chance to perform in the 2025 and 2026 editions of the George Enescu International Festival and Competition, as well as in concerts organized during the philharmonic seasons in the country. The Enescu 2024 Competition trophies, given to the three young cellists, are made by the artist Mihai Băncilă.
The Serafim Antropov Award for the best performance of Sonata no. 2 in C major for cello and piano op. 26 by George Enescu, worth 3,000 euros net was won by Yo Kitamura from Japan.
The prize for the best performance of the imposed work – Syntrimma for solo cello by Sebastian Androne-Nakanishi, worth 2,000 euros net, was won by Yo Kitamura from Japan.
The Audience Award, worth 1,000 euros net, was won by Ettore Pagano from Italy.